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The Backyardigans
The Backyardigans is a children's TV series of American/Canadian origin, created by Janice Burgess. It features five animal children, who imagine that their backyard becomes an adventure place. It is a co-production of Treehouse TV and Nick Jr., and the American/Canadian animation studio Nickelodeon Animation Studios and Nelvana. Deputing on October 11, 2004, it was originally directed by Robert Scull. Dave Palmer began directing the show in the middle of season one, and has directed all episodes since. It aired on CBS from October 2004 until September 2006. The songs for the show are music by Evan Lurie, of The Lounge Lizards, and Douglas Wieselman and lyrics by McPaul Smith. The characters were designed by children's author and illustrator Dan Yaccarino. On April 30, 2006, Nelvana and Nickelodeon jointly announced that twenty new episodes were ordered for the upcoming fall schedule"Nick Jr. And Nelvana Announce A Second Season Of The Backyardigans" (Press release). Cannes, France: Corus Entertainment. April 3, 2006. Archived from the original on 2008-01-27. Retrieved 2008-12-27.. In the UK, the second season debuted on October 30, 2006. The third season was released in Canada in March 2008, and the series made its Australian debut in the same year. A fourth season has been produced and is currently being released in Canada as of February 22, 2010. Six DVDs from this series were released on October 13, 2009 (Robot Repairman), January 5, 2010 (Join the Adventurer's Club), March 30 (Escape From the Tower), July 14, 2010 (Operation Elephant Drop), October 5, 2010 (Christmas With the Backyardigans) and March 8, 2011 (We Arrrr Pirates!)"The Backyardigans, Nick Jr.'s hit animated preschool series, was picked up for an additional 20 episodes and the series' fourth season" . The We Arrrr Pirates! DVD includes the episode The Tale of the Not-So-Nice Dragon which is a sequel to the season 3 episode Tale of the Mighty Knights. This DVD also includes the season 4 season finale. David Palmer, director of the show, announced that the season 4 finale is the series finale because Nickelodeon ended the show. Petitions are being signed to bring the show for a fifth season. The series finale aired on July 12, 2013. The show airs on Treehouse TV Canada and Nick Jr. (formerly Noggin). Characters Pablo Pablo is the youngest and the smallest of The Backyardigans; a yellow-beaked blue penguin wearing a blue bow tie and a blue and yellow propeller beanie, is the one who most often has the ideas and tends to be the most excitable of the group. He is best friends with Tyrone. Due to his energy and impetuousness, he takes the lead in many situations, but often goes into a "panic attack" when he faces an obstacle, running around in circles flapping his flippers and telling everyone not to panic until someone interrupts him to propose a solution by calling his name and then shouting it, at which point he stops, turns to the character and asks "Yeah?". The number of panic attacks decreased considerably after the first season, though in the Fourth Season episode The Flipper! his propensity for getting overexcited is actually a major point of the episode. Pablo appears in every episode with the exception of Chichen-Itza Pizza. Tyrone A good-natured, but somewhat fearful, red-haired orange moose and wears a red and blue striped long-sleeved shirt and Pablo's best friend. He is the oldest. He is almost his complete opposite in terms of personality despite his laid-back and cool-headed character and being known for his ironic comments. At the end of every episode, he remarks, "That was an excellent (type) adventure, don't you think?" although Pablo, Austin, and Tasha take over for his absence. As to being Pablo's best friend, they appear on opposing sides occasionally, such as International Super Spy, The Action Elves Save Christmas Eve, and Blazing Paddles. Uniqua A curious, self-confident and high-spirited pink character of no existing real-life species (the series uses the name "Uniqua" for both the character and her species). She is the second-youngest of the group. She wears pink polka-dotted overalls and has a pair of swirly antennae on top of her head. Uniqua is very sweet and friendly, though her strong opinions and occasional stubbornness get in the way of her relationships. While imagining herself having the roles that require brains and fortitude (such as scientist, pirate captain) and despite her love of books (as seen in episodes such as "The Masked Retriever"), she is more tomboyish than her friend, Tasha, though she can be just as feminine in some episodes. She is the only character to appear in every episode. Tasha A yellow hippo who is the second oldest, and wears an orange flowered dress and red shoes. Out of all the main characters, she is the only one who wears shoes all the time (except in her mermaid form). She is a sweet girl on the outside, but is more rational, likes to get her own way and isn't easy to fool. She is the most serious, although she is just as silly from time to time. From the second season onwards, she has a more muscular appearance than the other characters. She tends to be grumpy if she is not the boss. Her catchphrase is "oh for goodness sakes!" Austin A shy, but fun-loving purple kangaroo. Though generally shy in the first season, due to recently moving in the neighborhood, Austin starts to come out of his shell as he is revealed to be smart, friendly, and imaginative. He rarely appears in the spotlight, but takes the role of the lead character in some episodes. He is the third oldest of the group. Says Bogush: "Austin's usually the one pulling up the rear. He's kind of a get-along guy."Clarke, Eileen (October 4, 2006). "Who gets those 'toon-toed Backyardigans to dance?". Bring It On (Entertainment Weekly). Retrieved 2008-05-20. DVDs As of January 2010, seasons One through Three have been released on DVD for the North American region as well as two DVDs featuring episodes from Season Four. There are fourteen collections of four episodes each and three collections of three episodes Super Secret Super Spy (2007), Tale of the Mighty Knights (2008), and Robot Repairman (2009). The third DVD featuring episodes from Season Four titled "Escape From the Tower" was released in the US on March 30, 2010; it contains three Backyardigans episodes and one episode of The Fresh Beat Band. References Category:Veggie Backyardigans